Fortnite now available on Android, Samsung exclusive until August 12

After months of patient waiting, Android users can finally dive into Fortnite… but there's a catch.

Epic Games and Samsung have agreed to make the game exclusively available to Galaxy phone and tablet owners for the opening weekend. That means from August 9 to 12, only those who own a Galaxy S7 phone or later running Oreo will be able to download the Android version of the game. Anyone with a non-Samsung Android phone will have to wait until August 12 to download the game.

Users will have to go to the Samsung Game Launcher app to download the game since Epic has decided to circumvent Google and release their app outside the usual confines of the Google Play Store. After the exclusivity period ends, the game will also be available through Epic Games' website.

Which Samsung devices are compatible?

On top of being exclusive to Samsung Galaxy devices to start, the Fortnite Beta is also limited to Galaxy devices released in the past two years. That means you'll need one of the following phones or tablets to play the game:

Galaxy Note 9

Galaxy S9 and S9+

Galaxy Note8

Galaxy S8 and S8+

Galaxy S7

Galaxy S7 edge

Galaxy Tab S4

Galaxy Tab S3.

Exclusive V-Bucks offer for Note 9 pre-orders

But that's not the only Samsung Fortnite news announced at today's Samsung Unpacked event.

Pre-order the Note 9 and you can get 15,000 V-Bucks for Fortnite as a free gift!

Anyone who places a preorder for a Galaxy Note 9 between August 10, 2018 and August 23, 2018 can choose between a bonus gift of a pair of AKG noise-cancelling headphones ($299 retail value) or the Fortnite Galaxy skin along with 15,000 V-bucks ($150 retail value), for free—or get both for just $99 ($449 retail value). Galaxy Note 9 and Galaxy Tab S4 owners also get a free Fornite character skin.

For a bit of context, V-Bucks can be spent on cosmetic upgrades to your character that include new character models, skins, and emotes, which range from 500 to 2,000 V-Bucks. You can also spend your V-Bucks on a Fortnite Battle Pass, which lets you participate in Season play and unlock up over 100 unique rewards each season. Fortnite seasons typically last about 10 weeks, and we're midway through Season 5, so using your pre-order bonus on a Battle Pass should probably be your first investment if you want to get the most value.